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Sauron
Sauron (or Þauron '('Thauron); Quenya; IPA: ˈsaʊron or Vanyarin; IPA: ˈθaʊron - "The Abhorred"), the eponymous Lord of the Rings, was a fallen Maia, creator of the One Ring, master smith under Vala Aulë, former chief lieutenant of Morgoth the Black Foe of the World and the second Dark Lord. In the Second Age, he tried to enslave all of Middle-earth with the Rings of Power, but he was defeated in the War of the Last Alliance by the last line of defense: Elves and Men under kings Gil-galad and Elendil. During the battle, Isildur managed to cut off Sauron's finger that wore the Ring, causing the destruction of his corporeal form. After spending centuries lying dormant, regaining strength, Sauron returned to power in the Third Age, and would be permanently defeated in the War of the Ring by the destruction of the One Ring by Frodo Baggins. Due to his cruel and merciless nature, the Sindar and Ainur alike called him Gorthaur the Cruel, but to most people of Middle-earth he was known as the Enemy or as Sauron Deceiver. His own servants called him Sole Ruler, God-King, the Master '''or the '''One. History Origin Long before the First Age, Sauron was originally a Maia of the Vala Aulë the Smith; his name then was Mairon, meaning "the admirable." He learned much from Aulë in the ways of smithing and handiwork, becoming a great craftsman, and "mighty in the lore of" Aulë's people. Although he was a Maia spirit, and not as mighty as the Valar, Mairon was one of the most if not the most powerful Maiar, being far stronger than others such as Olorin and Curumo (who was also a servant of Aulë). His knowledged was great, for he also learned much under the mentorship of Manwë the Wise, the Vala who best understood the will of Eru. He also tutored Eönwë, who even after the former's fall would feel pity for his descent into evil. During this time, Mairon was as Eru had created him: good and incorrupt. His greatest virtue was his love of order and perfection - his dislike of anything wasteful. However, this would also prove to be the cause of his downfall, for in Melkor, Mairon saw the will and power that would help him achieve his own goals and desires faster than if he had pursued them on his own. However, while Morgoth wanted to either control or destroy the very matter of Arda itself, Mairon's desire was to dominate the minds and wills of its inhabitants. In his own twisted mind, he himself had been chosen by Eru to bring an end to chaos, which the Valar either did not care for or were unaware of it. Melkor himself was an agent of chaos, yet he would prove useful as he was already a Power and Mairon was not. So he planned to feign allegiance to Melkor and learn all his secrets so that he too would become a Power. After allying himself with Morgoth, Mairon maintained his appearance of being faithful to the Valar, but secretly fed Morgoth information about their dealings. It was only when the Morgoth established his strongholds in Middle-earth that Sauron left the Blessed Realms and openly declared his alliance with the Dark Enemy, and ever after remained a foe of the Valar and the Free Peoples of Middle-earth. The Sindar in Beleriand called him Gorthaur, meaning "dread abomination", and by the Ñoldor he was named Sauron, meaning "the abhorred" or "the abominable" (a mockery of his original name). First Age During the First Age, the Ñoldorin Elves left the Blessed Realm of Valinor in the Utter West (against the counsel of the Valar) in order to wage war on Morgoth, who had stolen the Silmarils of Fëanor, enchanted gems that glowed with light from the now-destroyed Trees of Valinor. In that war, Sauron was counted as the "greatest of Morgoth's servants that have names". His only equal in rank was Gothmog, the High Captain of Angband. He was soon feared as a lord of terrible phantoms and dreadful beasts--a shape-shifter, sorcerer, and cunning foe. Before Melkor's captivity, Sauron commanded the fortress of Angband, which became a place of dread and terror under his banner. At the beginning of the War of Powers, the Valar forces leveled Angband with little difficulty, though it is not know for certain if Sauron was present when the fortress was attacked. When Utumno was sacked and Melkor captured, Sauron was nowhere to be found. However, in their haste to both capture Melkor and remove him from Middle-earth, the Valar paid little heed to Sauron or other terrible foes. During Melkor's captivity, Sauron returned to Angband and had wolves, crows and other beasts restore it to its former glory. As the Valar had left Middle-earth, the fallen Maia was let to return to his devices. Due to this, Sauron discovered the Elves before the Valar, captured many of them, and transformed them by torture and other foul craft into orcs, ever servants of his will. He rebuilt all the fortifications of Angband and Utumno, while also having the fortress of Dol Guldur built in what would become known eventually as Mirkwood. There he began to breed many beasts such as Cats, Werewolves and Drakes, which he called his "creatures", as in his pride he considered himself a creator of life as Eru was, for deep down he respected him and recognized the One's true power. To avoid drawing the Valar' attention, Sauron peopled the caverns and passes of the mountains with orcs, who built great strongholds such as Goblin-Town and Gram to be used in the war. Sauron had gained much power and thrived of it. He was as he had envisioned, a lord over many creatures, which he would teach order and discipline. When Morgoth returned, Sauron knelt before him and once renewed his oath of allegiance to the fallen Vala, though he felt that he had been cheated by fate, as he had merely glimpsed upon his goals. Yet, in his Orcs he saw the chance to eventually rival both Morgoth and the Valar if he had time to prepare. So he returned to his place as an apparently faithful servant of Bauglir, while keeping the existence of his creatures secret. Lord of Darkness When Morgoth left Angband much later to corrupt the newly awakened Atani (Men), he left Sauron to use his own forces and direct the war against the Elves. The orcs' superior numbers overcame the Ñoldor and forced Finrod King of Nargothrond, to leave the Elvish isle of Tol Sirion in the hands of the enemy, so that it became known as Tol-in-Gaurhoth, the Isle of Werewolves. There, Sauron established himself as lord over ghosts, phantoms, orcs, wolves, crows and other creatures. For a time he remained simply Morgoth's regent, but his pride over-reached itself; it was at this time that the symbol of a red eye came to be used by his servants, who reffered to him as "Master", "King of the World" or "Lord of Arda". At that time, his most notable servants were Draugluin the Sire of Werewolves, Thuringwethil the Messenger the mistress of Sauron, Scatha the Long-worm, Gorgol the Butcher the captain of Orcs, Tevildo the Prince of Cats and Storlaga the Orc-demon the Sauronite cult leader. To symbolize his new reign of terror, Sauron forged a terryfying mask and took a Silmaril from Morgoth's hoard, which he put into it as a show of his rightful rule over all that is evil. Quest for the Silmaril After Dagor Bragollach, Sauron's orc hunters captured Gorlim and questioned him of Barahir's, father of Beren, location. Gorlim told them none, until Sauron the Dark himself came forth and bartered with the man. Falling under the Maia's will, Gorlim gave into temptation and asked for his wife Eilinel, whom he thought captured, as well as to be left in peace. Thus, Sauron agreed and Gorlim yielded the information. However, Sauron revealed that Eilinel was dead, and he put Gorlim to death afterward so that he could join her in the Halls of Mandos. During the Quest for the Silmaril, Beren and Finrod King together with a company of Elves were captured by Sauron's creatures as they attempted to pass, disguised as soldiers under the banner of Morgoth. There Finrod and Sauron fought songs of power, until the former's resolve was weakened by the latter's will and power. He stripped them off their disguises and cast them into the dark pits where hungry wolves devoured their companions. When such a great wolf came to attack Beren, Finrod wrestled with and killed it, but died soon after of his injuries. Soon afterward, Lúthien and Huan the wolf-hound of the Valar arrived at the bridge of the fortress Tol-in-Gaurhoth. Ensnared by her beauty, Sauron sent orcs and werewolves to capture Lúthien, as he wished to possess her, but all were slain by Huan. Draugluin the Sire of Werewolves was one of them, but he fled and told his lord that Huan was there. Therefore, Sauron took the form of a great werewolf and leaped to attack Lúthien. Huan sprang and subdued Sauron. Frightenend as never before, he yielded the tower to Lúthien and was left to escape in a form of a vampire back to Angband, of which he retook briefly control of, as Morgoth was still away and he had guessed Beren's mission: to gain the Silmaril from his crowned-mask. Some time later, Lúthien and the rescued Beren, seeking to gain Silmaril, came disguised to Angband. Having awaited them, Sauron was able to see through the elven-maiden's disguise, but yet again she was undaunted by his eyes, and offered to sing for him to please him. As she sang, Sauron conceived a lust and an evil more abominable than any he had yet committed, and allowed her to continue singing. But as he delighted in his thought of possessing her in his hoard of treasures and thralls, suddenly shadow hid her, and she sang a song of great and terrible power that cast a spell of sleep. All of the court was cast down in slumber by her song, but the Silmarils burned, and became so heavy that the head of Sauron sagged upon his chest. He fell from his throne, the Iron Crown rolled away from him, and Beren cut a Silmaril from it. However, rather than leaving immediately with his prize, he tried to take another of the Silmarils. As he attempted to pry the second jewel loose, his knife snapped. One shard struck Morgoth's face, and he began to awaken. Beren and Lúthien fled in terror, but were not chased as Morgoth and his court had not yet woke. However, at the gates of Angband the werewolf Carcharoth was aware of them, and later bit off Beren's hand, and took with it the Silmaril. Burning from the inside at the touch of the holy jewel, Carcharoth went mad and fled in wrath from Angband, slaughtering all who stood in his path. Then Sauron awoke, and in a rage he and his court roared up in pursuit, only to see Thorondor carrying off the raiders. Sauron's rage at the loss of the Silmaril caused the Iron Mountains to begin erupting, terrifying all those who could see it. Ultimately however, he was unable to recover the gem and having been humilliated and knowing that Morgoth would return soon, left Angband and gathered his court and servants in Dol Guldur Fall of Gondolin It was said that Morgoth and Sauron hated and feared the House of Fingolfin the most of the three Houses of the sons of Finwe, and the former feared most of that house Fingolfin's son Turgon, as it was prophesised that from the House of Turgon would his doom come. Following Turgon's escape from the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, both Morgoth and Sauron sought to find and destroy the last of the free kingdoms of the Noldor; Gondolin, where Turgon resided. Though Morgoth had been unable to force Húrin to reveal the location of the last great elven kingdom nor had his demon spies learned anything of it, it was Sauron's orcs who eventually captured Maeglin, sister-son of Turgon, the King of Gondolin. Threatened with unimaginable torment at the hands of the fallen Maia himself, Maeglin offered the secrets of Gondolin's defenses in exchange for his own well-being. Additionally, he made a promise to kill Tuor personally, and was given permission by Sauron to take Idril for himself. Having lusted after Idril for decades, Sauron's offer secured Maeglin's loyalty, and he became a willing servant of the Necromancer. After learning all he could from Maeglin, Sauron sent him back to Gondolin to aid the invasion from within when the time came and sent word to Morgoth, hoping that his success would ease his lord's wrath at his defeat in Tol Sirion. Soon after, Morgoth assailed Gondolin, the last great realm of the Ñoldor. With Maeglin's treacherous information, his forces advanced upon city nearly undetected, during a time of festival and over the mountains where the watch was least vigilant. By the time the elves realized their peril, the city had been beleaguered without hope by Morgoth and Sauron' overwhelmingly superior forces, and quickly fell. With the Sacking of Gondolin and the defeat of the Noldor and their allies, Morgoth's triumph was complete. The great kingdoms of the elves had all fallen, save for the Havens of Cirdan and the survivors at the Mouths of Sirion, which were ruled by Eärendil, and Morgoth esteemed them as nothing. He even came to care nothing for Sauron's failure, and laughed when he saw the last and the most cruel kinslaying when the Sons of Feanor destroyed the dwelling at Arvernien. After the Fall of Gondolin, Sauron played little part in the events of the First Age, fearing that the Valar might intervene once again. His premonition was confirmed, as the fallen Vala was defeated by the Host of Valinor and cast into the Void. For the first time since his descent into evil, Sauron seemed to genuinely repent. On the field of the Host of the West's victory, he met with his former friend and pupil, Eönwë the Messenger of Manwë, and pleaded to him to be forgiven. Eönwë forgave him, but told him that they were equals, so Mairon had to return to Valinor and face the Powers' judgement. Though he considered for a moment, pride overcame him and Sauron was unwilling to return to the Utter West and kneel before the Valar and so fled somewhere in Middle-earth, gathering his servants and thus returning to his old devices. Second Age Forging of the One Ring After lying hidden and dormant for five hundred years, Sauron began revealing himself once more, and by SA 1000 he gathered his power and established himself in the land of Mordor in eastern Middle-earth and began building the dreaded Dark Tower of Barad-dûr near Mount Doom. He gathered his remaining forces and bred anew Orcs, Trolls and other creatures as well as as well as corrupting the hearts of Men with delusions of power and wealth, chiefly Easterlings and Southrons (the Haradrim). Although Sauron knew that men were easier to sway, he sought to bring the Elves into his service, as they were far more powerful, proven by their resolve against him in the First Age. By about SA 1500, Sauron put on again a fair visage in the Second Age, and calling himself Annatar, the "Lord of Gifts", he befriended the Elvish smiths of Eregion, including Celebrimbor, greatest of craftsman as he was descended from Fëanor, and counseled them in magic and the arts of Ring-making. Not all the Elves trusted him, particularly Elrond, and Gil-galad, High King of the Ñoldor, while others like Lady Galadriel, were initially suspicious but were soon enthralled by his lies. To the elves who listened, Sauron gave knowledge and encouragement in forging the Rings of Power, though in secret Sauron forged his own, the One Ring, to rule the Elvish rings. Upon that ring Sauron left the black speech inscription, Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatulûk, agh burzum-ishi krimpatul. In Westron the inscription translated into: One Ring to Rule Them All, One Ring to Find Them, One Ring to Bring Them All, and in the Darkness Bind Them. However, as soon as Sauron put the Ring on his finger the Elves sensed his treachery, and removed their rings and hid them. Enraged, Sauron came against them in open war and demanded that all the Rings of Power be given to him. The Elves managed to hide the three greatest of the Rings from him, but the other sixteen Rings of Power were either captured by Sauron, destroyed, or lost. To the Dwarves he had given Seven, but to Men he had given Nine, knowing that they would be the easiest to enslave. The Dwarf Lords who received the Rings proved to be very resistant to their power, and neither "faded" nor became enslaved to Sauron's will. The Rings, however, created in them an insatiable lust for gold, which ultimately caused a great deal of grief for the Dwarves As Sauron predicted, the nine Men were all corrupted by their Rings and became the Nazgûl, Sauron's deadliest and most cruel servants. Had the Elves not recognized Sauron's treachery and forsaken the power of their rings, the results would have been catastrophic for the Free Peoples of Middle-earth. It seems that most if not all of the native Men of Middle-earth succumbed to the power of the Ring once the Nazgûl were created; the Númenóreans were spared because of their distance. The Elves, had they been captured in this fashion, would have become the slaves of Sauron, and thus Celebrimbor's resistance was of immense importance in the history of Middle-earth. In this era, during which he marshalled and commanded great armies, Sauron became known as the Dark Lord and his fortress of Barad-dûr was completed. He was very powerful even without control of the Elves, and he conquered nearly all of Middle-earth during the War of the Elves and Sauron. However, the armies of Númenór's King Tar-Minastir were finally able to defeat him at a last battle near Gwathló or the Greyflood in SA 1700. Defeated but not vanquished, Sauron retreated back to Mordor and began recouping his strength over the many centuries. Towards the end of the Second Age, Sauron was once again powerful enough to raise again large armies to attempt to rule Middle-earth. By this time, he assumed the titles of "Lord of the Earth" and "King of Men". Sauron's rise in power and apparent intention to crown himself the King of all Men offended the Númenóreans; the powerful Men descended from those who had fought against Morgoth in the War of Wrath. Some were the descendants, through Elros, of Beren and Lúthien. Life in Númenor These Men lived on the island of Númenor in the sea between Middle-earth and Valinor. The Númenóreans, who were then proud, came to Middle-earth with astounding force of arms. King Ar-Pharazôn, who desired no less than the kingship of Middle-earth, marched his troops all the way to Mordor without a single battle, and demanded that Sauron abase himself before the King. Sauron could see clearly that even the most powerful of his servants could not stand against the Númenóreans, and so came from Barad-dûr without any offer of battle. He assumed a fair form and flattered Ar-Pharazôn, but the King demanded that Sauron come back to Númenor as a hostage. Sauron feigned unhappiness at this development but secretly was delighted, for this presented him with an opportunity to destroy the Númenóreans from within. After only a few short years in Númenor he grew from captive to the King's most trusted adviser and later became his lord as a God-King. Drawing on their fear of death, he converted many Númenóreans to worshipping him, lying that he had had the power to save them from mortality. As his power and influence reached its peak, he raised a great Temple in which he had priests known as Mouths of Sauron perform human sacrifices in his name. During rituals and sacrifices, Sauron wore a golden mask to signify his status as God-King. Finally, he convinced Ar-Pharazôn to rebel against the Valar and attack Valinor itself and conquer it to prove his allegiance to him. But here, Sauron's cunning overreached itself, for Eru then directly intervened - Númenor was drowned under the sea, and the great navy of Númenor was destroyed and the army that reached Aman was buried under mountains of falling rock and imprisoned in the Caves of the Forgotten. The world was bent, so that thereafter, only Elven-Ships could sail into the Utter West. Sauron's body was destroyed, but his spirit was not diminished, and he fled back to Mordor bearing the Ring, where he slowly rebuilt a new body and his strength during the time known as the Dark Years. From this point on, he lost the ability to assume a fair shape, and ruled now through terror and force. A few faithful Númenóreans led by Elendil were saved from the flood, and they founded Gondor and Arnor in Middle-earth. Loss of the Ring After learning that Elendil, whom he had most hated, had survived and was ordering a realm on his borders, Sauron, after a while, made war with them. He struck too soon, however, and had not restored most of his strength, whereas the Elven-king, Gil-galadhad increased his power on Middle-earth in his absence. Therefore, when Gil-Galad allied with Elendil to create the Last Alliance and together fought Sauron, they finally defeated his armies at the Battle of Dagorlad, and laid siege to Barad-dûr for seven years. Finally, Sauron himself came forth and dueled both Elendil and Gil-galad, slaying them both single-handedly. Then Isildur, son of Elendil, took up his father's broken sword, Narsil and cut the One Ring from Sauron's finger. Sauron's physical body was destroyed. With nearly all of his power stored in the ring, he was vanquished when it was cut from his finger. Without their leader's dark will driving them on, Sauron's armies were routed and fled, and thus, his campaign to defeat the free peoples was seemingly ended, and his greatest weapon taken from him. But while Isildur had taken the ring, he could not bring himself to destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom where it was forged, instead he became corrupted by the One Ring and kept it for himself. He was eventually betrayed by it a few years later, and slain by Orcs at Gladden Fields. The Ring fell into the river Anduin, and was lost for centuries before being found by the two Stoorish friends Sméagol''' and Déagol. Third Age Despite his defeat, Sauron was not vanquished permanently. Though greatly weakened, and in non-corporeal form, he still existed, due to pouring most of his native power, strength, and will into the One Ring. Thus, as long as it existed, he could never be truly defeated, and during the first thousand years of the Third Age, he lay in hiding, slowly recovering his strength until he was once again able to create a body for himself. The Necromancer of Dol Guldur In the year TA 1000, Sauron at last began to rise again, taking the stronghold of Dol Guldur, the Hill of Sorcery, in southern Mirkwood in TA 1050. There, he was disguised as a dark sorcerer known as "'''the Necromancer", and the Elves did not realize at first that he was actually Sauron returned. Around this time, the Valar sent the five Wizards, or Istari, including Gandalf the Grey, who later became Gandalf the White, to oppose Sauron and rally the free peoples of Middle-earth against him. While Sauron continued to gather his strength, the Ringwraiths reappeared in the year TA 1300, and began steadily assaulting the Numenorian kingdoms in exile until, one by one, they fell. Whether the Witch King was acting on his own, or was being guided by Sauron, is not known. Suspecting that Sauron had returned and was guiding the Nazgûl, the wizard Gandalf infiltrated the fortress in TA 2063 to confirm his theory, but Sauron fled into the East to conceal his identity. This marked the beginning of the Watchful Peace, which ended with Sauron's return to Dol Guldur in TA 2460. During the same year, the One Ring was finally discovered by the stoor Sméagol and his friend Déagol. Gandalf the Grey made a second intrusion into Dol Guldur in TA 2850, and finally discovered that the Necromancer was indeed Sauron. Eventually, the White Council put forth their might and drove Sauron from Dol Guldur permanently in TA 2941. Without the Ring in his possession, Sauron could draw on only the smallest fraction of its strength, so that his enemies were able to drive him from Dol Guldur with relative ease. However, the Dark Lord, having had ample time to prepare, was willing to abandon Dol Guldur, and returned to Mordor, where he openly declared himself in TA 2951, and began preparations for his final war against the free peoples of Middle-earth. War of the Ring Sauron bred immense armies of Orcs, Trolls, Drakes and other creatures and brought Men from Harad, East and Dunland into his service. He gathered his most terrifying servants, the Nazgûl (airi in Quenyan), or Ringwraiths, each wearing one of the nine rings designed for mortal men, and had them prepare his forces. With the Palantir taken from Minas Ithil, now Minas Morgul as the Witch-king of Angmar's new domain, Sauron contacted Saruman, who lusting for power, fascinated by the Dark One's devices, and seeking a lord who would give him more power, willingly became his puppet. In secret, Saruman bred or recruited Orcs and paid Men to act as his agents, having them spy on affairs in Eriador and search for the One Ring in Anduin, which he could claim either for himself or for his lord. After the creature Gollum, originally the stoor-hobbit Sméagol who had originally found the ring, was captured, Sauron had him tortured and learned that he once had a magic ring, and, from him, he heard the words Shire and Baggins. He deduced that Gollum's ring was the One Ring, and sent his servants, the dreaded Nazgûl, to find Shire and search for Baggins, so that the One Ring might be found and returned to him. He also had Saruman try to sway Gandalf the Grey to their side, but when he failed, the former White Wizard locked the latter in the Tower of Orthanc and had his Orcs crate water caves, in which they built wooden machinery such as forges, furnaces and wheels as well as breeding Uruk-hai. Though both the Ringwraiths and Orcs failed to gain the Ring, Sauron had his puppet, Saruman, direct the war against Rohan and thus remove one of the major threats the Dark Lord faced in his planned conquest of Gondor and the remaining Elves. Saruman failed however, and Sauron lost one of his most potent servants as well as Saruman's massive army. Shortly after the wizard's defeat, Peregrin Took looked into the Palantír that Saruman had possessed and accidentally communicated with Sauron, who believed that Saruman had captured either the Halflings bearing the Ring, or some who might know of it. However, shortly thereafter Aragorn took the Palantir and revealed himself to Sauron with the intent of causing him unease. Upon seeing Aragorn, Sauron realized that Saruman had fallen and concluded that the heir of Isildur carried the One Ring. Fearful that his enemies would use the Ring against him, Sauron sped up his plans and attacked the city of Minas Tirith in Gondor sooner than he had planned, seeking to raze the city and crush last true human resistance to his rule before his enemies could fortify it. Fortunately, due to the combined efforts of Gondor, Rohan, and the Dúnedain of Arnor, Sauron's army was defeated. Despite still possessing more than enough armies to destroy Minas Tirith and enough military strength to easily conquer Middle-earth once Gondor fell, doubt began to grow on Sauron. As such, he watched and waited, hoping for a period of strife between Aragorn and other potential Ringlords in which he could move out and take the Ring for himself. Downfall Despite their successful repulsion of Sauron's armies at Minas Tirith, Gandalf and Aragorn knew that the bulk of Sauron's forces remained in Mordor, readying themselves for another, deadlier strike against the city. Filled as Mordor was with Sauron's troops, Frodo stood almost no chance of reaching Mt. Doom undetected. In light of the situation, Aragorn called for a council consisting of the major commanders of all the forces present in Minas Tirith, and appointed Gandalf to be their overlord until the crisis had passed. Gandalf made it clear to all those present that, despite their great victory, they ultimately could not hope to defeat Sauron's armies by force. Therefore, they had two options available. They could station their remaining force, considerably greater than it had been before the battle due to the reinforcements from Rohan and southern Gondor, at Minas Tirith and hope to endure Sauron's next attack. Or, they could take a force to the Black Gate and attempt to challenge Sauron directly. This force, as Gandalf suggested, would only need to be great enough to challenge battle, and the rest of their forces could remain behind to garrison Minas Tirith. This option, though suicidal for all those involved, would serve to distract Sauron from gazing into his own land, through which the Ringbearer would be trekking. Furthermore, Gandalf theorized that, once Sauron learned that a force too small to pose any real threat to him was on its way to the Black Gate to directly assault Mordor, he would likely believe that whomever was leading the attacking force would have the One Ring in their possession. Gandalf believed that Sauron would assume that the Ring itself would influence its wielder, and that, in the wielder's pride in his newfound power, he might be foolish enough to challenge Sauron's might with a force too small to assault Mordor in earnest. Their plot worked, as Sauron marshaled most of his remaining forces and marched them towards Udun to crush the Men of the West and regain his prize. This action left the Plains of Gorgoroth largely deserted and allowing Frodo and Sam to reach Mt. Doom with far less difficulty than they would have otherwise had. However, once Frodo reached the Crack of Doom, he finally succumbed to the power of the Ring. As he put it on and prepared to leave Mt. Doom, Sauron suddenly became aware of him, immediately drawing his gaze towards the mountain. Though enraged, Sauron was suddenly gripped with terror, having realized his own folly, and he frantically sent the Ringwraiths towards the mountain to retrieve the Ring. He was too late, however, as Gollum, after taking the Ring from Frodo, slipped and plunged to his death into the Cracks of Doom, and the Ring was unmade. The earth shook as a great shock wave rippled across Mordor, and the foundations of Barad-dûr were finally destroyed, causing the great fortress to fall into ruin once and for all. Mt. Doom was completely destroyed in a cataclysmic eruption that consumed the eight remaining Nazgul, who had left their combat with the Great Eagles to race to Mount Doom in its fiery ruin. With his source of power gone, Sauron was utterly defeated and his armies were destroyed or scattered, bereft of the driving will behind their conquest. With the Ring's destruction, Sauron was permanently robbed of his physical form, reducing him to a malevolent spirit that hovered above Mordor as a "huge shape of shadow, impenetrable, lightning-crowned, ...terrible but impotent," only to be blown away by a great wind.11 With the destruction of the Ring, the vast majority of Sauron's being and his power was forever lost. With that, Sauron's power was crippled, and the threat of his dominion was forever removed. Character Sauron, in his arrogance, malice and power, took on a form recorded as: ...a mountain that wades in the sea, and has its head above the clouds, and is clad with ice and crowned with smoke and fire, and the light of the eyes of Sauron was like a flame that whithers with heat and pierces with a deadly cold. —The Silmarillion, Ainulindalë When he built the fortress of Dol Guldur he took on a form shaped roughly manlike but great in size, "a Dark Lord, tall and terrible." When he walked in Valinor he wore a much fairer form, so noble and lofty and benevolent not even the Elves (save only Fëanor and Galadriel) are recorded as seeing through it to the malice underneath. This he cast off to escape unclad from being hunted down by either Morgoth or the Valar. . As he spent his might and poured out his power into the very fabric of matter, as well as into all his horrible creatures, he grew more stooped and less majestic. His eyes shone with a daunting light. There is some dispute over Sauron's size. The Silmarillion states: He stood over the king as a tower...and...cast a shadow over him like a storm cloud. —Quenta Silmarillion, As Elves typically reached about six feet tall, or close to seven feet for the Noldor, (Men were of similar height to Elves, however, Númenóreans averaged was similar with those Noldor elves and Elendil was said to be nearly eight)... Sauron must have stood at least twice this length, and with the shadow he robed himself in he may well have seemed taller. In most artistic renderings and Peter Jackson's adaptations, Sauron is depicted as towering over other beings, most notably elves of the FA and SA. Sauron set his foot upon his neck, and the weight of it was like a fallen hill. —Quenta Silmarillion This again implies a huge size. It may be wondered how Finrod stayed alive so long; but Elves were possessed of a strength and agility many times greater than a human (save exceptional ones like Turin), and Fingolfin could probably leap to great heights. Similar to Morgoth, over time his power was dispersed into the fabric of Arda and into his servants, lessening his might. At the time of Finrod and Beren' capture, Sauron was still referred to as "the greatest being in Arda", though this was before Morgoth himself returned, It is unknown how much of his power he put into his various slaves during his time in Dol Guldur and Angband in the FA and later Mordor in the TA. In terms of his personality, perhaps his most defining attribute was his overweening pride. From nearly the beginning of his existence, Sauron wished to have the power of creation, a power that only Eru Ilúvatar possessed. When he discovered that he would never be able to possess it, and that all that he could accomplish had, by definition, its utmost source in Ilúvatar himself, he began to descend into anger and bitterness. When Arda came into being as the result of the Music sung by Melkor and the Father, he initially desired to order all things according to the will of Ilúvatar, but later he would want lordship of over it for the sake of his own self aggrandizement. He also envied anyone who possessed anything in greater quantity than himself, and that which he could not control, he grew eventually to hate or desire to learn to control. He began with a desire for light, but when he could not possess it for himself alone, he turned instead to darkness. His power and knowledge, both of which were greater than any other of the Maiar, except maybe for Melian, was great, allowing him to perverte to manipulation and deception, and he became an absolute and consummate liar. Ever denied the lordship and worship he so coveted by the Free Peoples and those faithful to Eru, he squandered his power in fashioning evil servants who would give him these things, dispersing himself, his power, and his malice into the very fabric of Arda, similar to Morgoth. Despite his overwhelming might, he was also known to care deeply for himself and he was reluctant to engage in battle himself even when victory was completely assured. He was possessed of virtually peerless cunning, and he was able to deceive and manipulate even the Valar to the point where he appeared to genuinely repent. Many of his most terrible deeds in Arda were achieved through treachery, manipulation, misdirection, and lies, and he seduced many men, elves dwarves and other Free People or Maiar lesser than himself to his service with false promises. However, as an utterly pitiless and merciless being, acts of compassion, mercy, or pity were entirely beyond his comprehension, and he seemed to have a serial tendency to underestimate the valor and capabilities of his foes. Despite this, he was cunning and devious enough that he could easily understand the enemy's tactics and used this to his advantage. Sauron could also not understand how someone would give up power fo the sake of others and that proved to be his defeat in the Third Age. Insignia The Eye of Sauron, or Great Eye, was a symbol adopted by the Dark Lord in the Third Age. It was said that few could endure its terrible gaze. The Eye was used as a symbol on armor and banners of Mordor, representing Sauron's quasi-omnipotence. Servants: * Draugluin (Sire of Werewolves and guardian to Sauron) * Thuringwethil (Sauron's mistress and herald) * The Rider (Sauron's hunter) * Tevildo (Prince of Cats and Sauron's close companion) * Carcharoth (Sauron's great wolf-hound) * Maeglin (Sauron's mole in Turgon King of Gondolin's court) * Storlaga (Orc-demon lord and High Priest of Sauron's cult) * Scatha (King of Long-worms and guardian of Sauron's hoard) * Miaulë (Sauron's chef) * Talagand (Sauron's court jester) * Cyflym (Sauron's personal informant) * Gorgol (Captain of Sauron's Orcs) * Smaug (King under the Mountain and Sauron's emissary in Drogoth the Dragon-lord's court) * Azog (King of Moria and commander of Sauron's legions) * Bolg (Castellan of Gundabad and Sauron's ambassador in Azog's court) * Ogrod (Goblin-King of Goblin-town and paid-mercenary of Sauron) * Malraugin (Balrog-lord and ally of Sauron) * Saruman (Fallen wizard and puppet of Sauron) * Messenger of the Eye (Sauron's representative on Saruman's court) * Witch-king of Angmar (Sauron's deadliest of servants) * Ar-Pharazôn (General of Sauron's armies) * Gollum (Brief pawn of Sauron) * Grishnákh (Captain of Barad-dûr and captain of Sauron's armies) * Mouth of Sauron (Sauron's "mouth") Category:Dark Lords Category:Gods Category:Lords Category:Kings Category:Maiar Category:God-Kings Category:Servants of Evil Category:Servants of Morgoth